The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released a new Special 301 report that keeps China on the Priority Watch List due to long standing issues with intellectual property enforcement. Most notably is the filing of bad faith trademarks and counterfeiting occuring in China. The USTR notes that there is a "slowing pace" of changes to reforming these issues in the country.

The Priority Watch List also includes Argentina, Chile, India, Indonesia, Russia and Venezuela, however China continues to be the leader for IP enforcement issues.  For instance, China is the leading source of counterfeit goods - about 83% of counterfeit cosmetics custom seizures were from China.  Additionally, e-commerce platforms based in China - which has the largest market in the world - continue to be frustrating platforms to enforce rights consistently.  Then, bad faith trademark filings “remain[s] one of the most significant challenges for U.S. brand owners in China” and requires constant vigilance and enforcement efforts.

IP enforcement in China and other foreign jurisdictions continues to be challenging when managing a global brand and protecting important IP assets. Keeping abreast of changes in processes and procedures in global enforcement issues is critical as this space continues to evolve.